"Food for me was a connecting link to my grandmother, to my childhood, to my past. And what I found out is that for everybody, food is a connector to their roots, to their past in different ways. It gives you security; it gives you a profile of who you are, where you come from." - Lidia Matticchio Bastianich

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Thursday, December 12, 2013

I came across a unique product at our local Indian stores the other day. It is called "Junnu Powder". I am not familiar with this word but its description sounded like "Kharwas" - Indian milk pudding.

When I was growing up in Mumbai, we got our milk delivered in milk bags. But every once in a while, a milkman would show up with special milk for making kharwas called "cheek". Mom used to make delicious kharwas.

This Junnu powder that I discovered at our Indian stores looked just plain white milk powder. All you have to do is add sugar, milk and cardamom/nutmeg/saffron and steam for about 15 minutes. Chill the pudding before serving, for the best result. This pudding tasted just like real kharwas.

Method
1. Mix milk, sugar and junnu powder so there are no lumps.
2. Stir in cardamom, nutmeg and saffron powders. Mix well.
3. Pour enough water in the pressure cooker. Let the pudding steam for about 15-20 minutes. Do not use weight.
4. Chill in the refrigerator.
5. Cut into diamonds or squares.